


Fireflies in the Garden

by mldrgrl



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-26 03:17:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19759489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mldrgrl/pseuds/mldrgrl
Summary: Some post-The Truth angst





	Fireflies in the Garden

It’s been a hard year. A hard two years, really. The separation, the irreparable decision to let go of their little miracle, the running. It takes a toll. And it didn’t take long for the monotony of days spent trapped in dingy motel rooms in towns too small to appear on maps to eat away at the initial joy of being reunited. Forced togetherness breeds contempt.

When Mulder tells her about a little house in Farr’s Corner, her emotions ping pong between relief and anger. They have a vicious argument about it, regardless of being on the same page, of wanting to stop, and needing a place to rest. He makes the same flimsy excuses she’s heard for nine years about wanting to protect her, keep her safe, and she disputes it with the same responses she’s always given him, he can’t protect her by keeping her in the dark. In the heat of the moment, she lets slip that she wouldn’t be in this predicament if not for him anyway, and she’s never regretted anything more in her life, but she was too angry at the time to take it back. They spend the next four days driving to Virginia in silence. 

There’s not much in the way of conversation to be had in their first week in the little house either. It’s only half-furnished and they have very little in way of supplies. Scully takes the car and finds herself alone for the first time in thirteen months. She spends more hours than necessary perusing second hand shops in nearby towns and even takes a full day to find a WalMart that’s over two hours away for cleaning supplies. Mostly, though, she just wants to get away. Every time she returns, Mulder says nothing, but the look on his face tells her that he’s both surprised and relieved.

She’s making the bed upstairs, letting the freshly washed Egyptian cotton topsheet float down over the queen-sized mattress they’d picked up that afternoon. It was definitely something to be grateful for. No more air mattresses, no more hunkering down in the back of the SUV in sleeping bags, no more questionable motels. 

“Scully!” Mulder calls from downstairs.

She drops the pillow and pillowcase she’s holding and her right hand immediately flies to her hip, where her holster would be. It’s a reflex. There’s urgency in Mulder’s voice, but no fear.

“Scully, you’ve gotta see this!”

Her heart is racing and she closes her eyes, taking a moment to steady her breathing. As she heads downstairs, she can make out his silhouette through the screen door. He’s standing on the porch, in the dark. He turns as she reaches the creaky stair, second from the bottom, and opens the door for her. 

Automatically, she looks up as she steps outside, towards the hint of stars speckled in the lavender and rose-blush twilight. The outline of a quarter moon hangs just above the treetops in the distance.

“What am I looking for?” she asks.

“You don’t see it?” He points and she follows the line of his arm with her eyes, towards the overgrown grass surrounding the house.

“I don’t see it.”

“Wait. Watch.”

She waits and concentrates. At first, she thinks it’s a trick of her eyes, but then she sees it. Them. The golden wink of what must be a hundred fireflies.

“Wow,” she says.

“Right? I’ve never seen so many.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever even seen one.”

“Really?”

“Not that I can remember.”

“I used to help Sam catch them when we were kids. Get a few in a jar, watch them light up for a bit, and then let them go.”

She thinks of her own older brother for a fleeting moment. If he’d ever helped her try to catch fireflies, it probably would’ve been with an ulterior motive to pull the light out of them just to terrorize her.

“Anyway,” Mulder says. “I didn’t want you to miss it.”

There have been moments they’ve shared in the past, where it overwhelms her with how much she loves him. Usually, they come out of nowhere, like this one, where something that seems so simple, like wanting to share fireflies with her, can kickstart her heart and ignite a rush of emotion through her. It’s inexplicable, but most things are when it comes to them. Then again, she told him once, a lifetime ago, that the answers are there, you just have to know where to look.

She reaches for his hand and presses her palm to his. He doesn’t look at her, keeps his eyes on the fireflies, but she sees his Adam’s apple jump as he swallows. He blinks quickly and she looks away.

For two people who have spent years talking, so much has been unspoken. They were once able to bounce theories off of each other and argue about everything regarding work, but when it comes to expressing joy or sorrow, they are mostly mute. She can’t even remember if she’s ever told him she loves him.

“Mulder, I…” She pauses, licks her lips and sucks in a breath.

“Can you do just one thing for me, Scully? Give me a few days head start.”

“What?”

“When you leave. I’m tired and I don’t have the mental energy right now to formulate a very good plan.”

“Mulder…”

“I’ve been thinking about it though, and I think you should tell them I took you with me against your will. That’ll probably take care of any aiding and abetting charges they might want to file.”

“Mulder, stop.”

“Skinner can help with that, I’m sure. Maybe Kersh, I don’t know. I just need-”

“You need to stop. Please.”

He pulls his hand away from hers and scrubs his face. He turns to head inside, but she catches his arm and stops him. There are shadows under his bloodshot eyes and lines in his forehead.

“You did not take me against my will,” she says. “Let’s get that clear. Even if I were to leave, which I’m not, I chose you. And I would do it again if I had to.”

His eyes bounce back and forth, but she holds her gaze steady. His left cheek twitches. She senses the argument he’s about to make before he opens his mouth, one they’ve had countless times before, and she lets go of his arm.

“Don’t tell me I wouldn’t be here if not for you,” she says. 

“It’s the truth. You’re here because of me. Everything that’s...your sister, your cancer, your...your daughter and our...”

“Mulder, if not for you, I wouldn’t have even had William. Do you think I would change that?”

“Of course not. But-”

  
  


“We have both made sacrifices, Mulder. Some harder than others, but I refuse to let you go again. If you don’t want to be with me, that’s one thing, but I refuse to give up on us just because you think I might get hurt. I don’t need you to protect me.”

“I always want to be with you.”

“Well, good, because I love you, dammit.”

He looks momentarily awestruck, like she’s presented him proof of alien life. Flustered and hot, she turns away from him with her hands on her hips and descends the porch steps to the grass. The panicked chirp of crickets follows her into the lazy swarm of fireflies. It isn’t long before she hears Mulder behind her.

“I love you too,” he says, softly. “Dammit.”

She has to smile a little and he’s right there when she turns around. She clutches his t-shirt into her fist at his chest and he wraps his arms around her.

“I’m sorry, Scully,” he whispers.

“You and me, Mulder. You and me.”

He nods against the top of her head and strokes her hair. “And a little house and a thousand fireflies.”

“And a nice new bed I’ve just put fresh sheets on.”

“You coming on to me, Scully?”

“Just stating the facts.” She tips her head up to rest her chin on his chest and look up at him. He reaches up to hold her cheek and she leans into his hand. The fireflies spark in her periphery. 

The End


End file.
